For event information: Vigo County Public Library: 812-645-3631 or Art Spaces, Inc.: 812-235-2801 or info@wabashvalleyartspaces.com

Arthur Feinsod is a playwright, director and Professor of Theater at Indiana State University where he also teaches honors courses in the humanities. One of his recent plays, Coming to See Aunt Sophie, toured Germany and Poland and was performed in Terre Haute, Bloomington and Chicago in 2014. Dr. Feinsod is also co-founder and Associate Director of Theater 7, a newly formed professional theater company working in downtown Terre Haute.

Theodore Dreiser, born in Terre Haute, was known as the “Father of American Naturalism.” Dr. Feinsod will be discussing Dreiser in the context of Naturalism in the arts in Europe and the United States. Attendees will learn how Dreiser’s writing relates to naturalist theory as well as the art, philosophy and theater of his time.

Art Spaces is currently raising funds for a sculpture to honor Dreiser adjacent to the north entrance of the library on Walnut Street. This talk offers an opportunity to understand how Dreiser’s work helped defined a movement that energized many other writers of his time. In fact, many writers of Dreiser’s era and later believed that his writing paved the way, allowing writers to depict life as they saw it.

Naturalism, however, was not unique to Dreiser, since the movement was already active in Europe. Dr. Feinsod will offer insights into the connecting links between the continents, and the various art forms that fit under the banner of Naturalism.